As Time Goes By
by RaeVin
Summary: It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory, a case of do or die. The world will always welcome lovers, as time goes by. [RobinRaven]


A/N: Casablanca is my favorite movie of all time and I blame Sam for causing me to fall in love with the song _As Time Goes By_. I was listening to it on my ipod two days ago when the idea for this story just sort of hit me. The version I have is Bryan Ferry's on his CD entitled _As Time Goes By_, but I have to admit that I do prefer Dooley Wilson's from Casablanca.

So if you're a _Casablanca_ fan, this one-shot is dedicated to you!

3-21-07

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**As Time Goes By**

Robin ran his fingers through his thick, damp hair and exited his room, feeling refreshed. There was nothing better than a revitalizing shower after a thorough throttling of the worn out punching bag in the training room.

His jeans slightly _shhh_ed as he made his way down the hallway toward the common room for a bite to eat. He had decided to trade in his uniform and his cape for a pair of faded jeans and a grey t-shirt that read 'Yale' for the evening, figuring he wouldn't need them. And besides, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy were downtown for the night anyway. If something came up down there, they definitely would be able to handle it. After all, they'd been a team for years and each Titan was more than capable of subduing nearly any villain they encountered, especially if another Titan was there, too.

So Robin didn't worry too much about dressing the part this evening. Except for his mask. He still refused to take it off. Sure, over the years the Titans had learned each others' true identities, and even a few times they had seen Robin's eyes. But his mask was like a security blanket of sorts to Robin, and it was difficult to part with. It had become a part of him and he just felt more comfortable with it on. So he left it on.

As he neared the electronic doors leading to the common room, Robin began to hear noises. For a second he was confused before he remembered that Raven hadn't wanted to go ice skating in the city with the others. She had elected instead to stay home and catch up on some much needed meditation after a particularly hectic, crime fighting-filled week.

He soon realized that the noise was instead just music, and as he opened the doors, he could clearly hear it emitting from the stereo system at the other end of the room.

Robin took a few steps in and stopped. He didn't know why his feet refused to carry him any further. He just felt like he would be intruding if he even breathed too loudly, let alone walk in and make a ruckus.

For there was Raven, sitting in an armchair in the back corner of the unlit room, looking deeply into the burning flames dancing in the fireplace. She was leaning forward, as if she yearned to get closer but something was holding her back, her forearms resting on her knees. An ethereal orangish glow lit up her face, causing her violet eyes to flicker and sparkle. The dark ebony of night with the slight specks of falling snowflakes out of the huge window to her side caused a stark contrast with her shining skin and the blazing fire.

Robin's initial purpose to venture into the kitchen/ common room was forgotten as his eyes became transfixed on Raven. She was staring so intently into the fire, her current book propped open upside-down on the coffee table. She looked as if she was lost, and the fire held the key to all her answers.

The song began to hush and finish and Robin finally felt like it was safe to breathe again, as the first notes of the next song began to play and Raven's face softened considerably.

Faintly, Robin registered the new tune to be _As Time Goes By_. He wouldn't normally peg Raven as the type to listen to this kind of music, but when he saw the expression on her face as she, too, recognized it, he realized it must have some significant meaning to her. She relaxed a bit and closed her eyes, one of her almost-smiles playing on her lips.

Suddenly, Robin found his feet moving toward the dark girl until he stopped almost in front of her, just off to the side so as to be sure not to block the firelight from flickering across her face and lighting up her features. He told himself he did this so as not to be rude and disrupt her sight of the fireplace, but he knew that he really did it for selfish reasons. He really wanted to still be able to admire the beauty that is simply Raven.

Robin had never really admitted that he found Raven to be beautiful before. Sure, there were times when he thought she looked pretty, and even on the rare nights of clubbing – dare he say it – sexy. But he never really stopped to study her and see how exquisitely, elegantly, matter-of-factly beautiful she was.

"I just love this song," Raven's voice broke through Robin's thoughts and brought him back down to earth. For a moment, he though he had been quiet enough not to have alerted her to his presence, but then he remembered that she was an empath and could most likely feel his aura emanating around his body.

She spoke again, eyes still searching the fire for some intangible support. "It assures me that some things will never change. I grew up without much love, but listening to this song always assures me that love is something strong and lasting and will always be in this world, waiting for someone like me to whom it means more than most people could ever know."

She said this with a faraway look in her eye as she continued to gaze into the fire, but she was more looking past the flames, though them, than at them. _Perhaps_, he thought, _she doesn't realize she's saying this aloud to me_.

And then suddenly she lifted her violet gaze to meet his masked one, her eyes boring into him, not with anger, but with a yearning for him to understand.

Impulsively, Robin reached out and took Raven's hand and pulled her into a standing position, the force of the gentle tug bringing them close, just shy of their fronts touching.

Raven had probably flinched at the initial contact, but Robin didn't notice, or didn't care. He stared down at her as she stared up. Her eyes looked as if they were trying to discern what he was doing or thinking, but to no avail.

Robin figured it was a bold move, but he did it anyway. After all, he had never been one to back down or not act; he was an all-action man and did as he felt, and as the ideas came to him.

He moved his hand so that instead of just holding hers, he had clasped her fingers between his, their digits interlacing. He brought his free hand up to her lower back and pulled her in tighter so that their bodies were flush against each other. Then he did something even he never expected he'd do. He started to sway. He moved in rhythm with the song, leading Raven into a slow, slow dance.

For a moment she stood straight, seemingly afraid of losing her stolid demeanor, but then she surprised him by relaxing into his hold and moving gently in time with him.

"_No matter what the future brings, as time goes by."_

She brought her free hand up and placed it around his back, resting it on his shoulder.

At her show of compliance, Robin tightened his hold on her even more. Their feet were hardly moving and their steady sway hardly qualified as a dance, but to Robin, it was perfect.

The singer's calm, soothing voice resonated in the dark room, _"Hearts full of passion, jealousy and hate."_ And the rolling notes of the accompanying piano trinkled around them, submerging the two in an ocean of firelight and melodies in the otherwise still darkness.

Raven turned her head and nestled it under Robin's chin, between his throat and collarbone, and he leaned into her touch, treasuring it because it was so rare for Raven to initiate contact, especially contact this intimate.

"_It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory, a case of do or die. The world will always welcome lovers, as time goes by."_

The song quietly came to a close, but another one didn't start up again. Robin figured it was the end of the CD. He thought for a spilt second of ending the dance before the idea was dashed from his head. Raven showed no intention of moving, so he sure as hell wasn't going to stop.

Robin just continued to hold her, the two moving ever so softly in their own world. All Robin could register was the smell of her lavender hair beneath his nose; the delicacy of her fingers holding carefully onto his; and in his mind, the faint remnants of the classic tune, _"The world will always welcome lovers, as time goes by."_

Fin


End file.
